While watching this I had a stark realisation. Arnold Scwarzenegger is 72 years old now and Linda Hamilton is 62 years old. It has been 27 years since Terminator 2. But the question is. Are the elders still able to kick butt?
In the world of Terminator Dark Fate movie 3-6 never happened. This takes place after Terminator 2 instead in an attempt to retcon the series with a spark. It has the same basic plot. Someone is the chosen one, they send back someone to protect and someone that wants the chosen one dead. It’s a tad formulaeic but hey it works! This time it’s not Arnold that is sent back to protect the chosen one but a supersoldier named Grace.
The old T-800 series of terminators are pretty much discontinued. Arnold might be the last one left. It feels like a homage to the action heroes of old. Pure muscle, machine and badassery. While the new model is a new form of melty steel new age crap. With this homage over and done with Arnold takes the back seat.
This is a great action film where the ladies take the lead. Besides Hamilton we also have Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes essentially being the main stars. They are just as capable as ultra buff men to make corny oneliners, use machine guns and throw grenades like there is no tomorrow and it’s so wonderful to watch!
Terminator Dark Fate is a vitamin injection for the action genre as a whole. It shows that the stage doesn’t entirely belong to the now grey haired action relics of the eighties. It’s gritty, it’s filled with explosions and manages to feel like a true sequel to Terminator 2. I hope that this is along with Rambo is just the spark that’s needed to reignite the action genre!
This review was made possible thanks to our collaborative partner Spegeln.
